F A L L I N G
by you.broke.a.promise
Summary: Sakura has watched Sasuke trompse on any and every girl's heart for the last three years. But this year, something is different. She wants to know what it is.
1. C O N F E S S I O N

**A/N: **This really happened/is happening to me. I am Sakura's character, and I really can't name the others. However, Rin is Ebil Chameleon and Sasuke is the boy I've been crushing on since…well, you'll figure it out. :D Uhm, I'm hoping this will turn out to be a SasuSaku, but it all depends on the boy, ne? Slight NaruIno and NaruSaku. And TemSasu. Don't ask, it's just what fit. At the end, I might reveal who is what is who and yeah.

_Disc: _I own the events, Rin (she's mah bitch, yooo!) and the hair brush that is situated uncomfortably under my thigh.

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**F A L L I N G**

C H A P T E R.O N E**:**  
C O N F E S S I O N

_By: you.broke.a.promise_

* * *

Yeah.

I know what you're thinking. You're sitting there reading this wondering why the hell you opened it in the first place cause it's probably just another annoying high school story. Well believe what you want- because to me, this one's unlike the others. This is my story.

So sit back, settle down and grab a drink cause I'm about to tell it.

My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm a sophomore and Konoha High School.

It all started in eighth grade, the year before my actual high school experience. My best friend Ino was dating Naruto at the time, and I fell into their group albeit slowly. Its when I first began to notice him- Uchiha Sasuke. He had gotten _really hot_ over the summer. His hair was longer, almost like a rocker's, and it framed his pretty face. He was gorgeous, and I wanted him.

_Really badly._

So of course, I moved in for the kill. We became friends, I his best female friend, and Uzumaki Naruto his best male friend. The thing was, he made it clear over and over again that I wasn't his type. Still, I kept trying. Each of his girlfriends were eventually kicked to the curb, and the ones that lasted more than two weeks became my friends.

It was unfortunate, but I wasn't going to shove people away just because they were dating the man of my dreams… Uh, yeah.

Freshman year passed quickly, our friendship was strong and my friends usually got mad at the way I forgave him for being such an asshole so easily. He was number on my list, always. During that year, Sasuke was dating another girl, this one he'd already dated twice but it didn't seem to matter. I tried to push myself away from him and think of other people but it barely worked.

I was friends with his latest conquest, and we were all at her house for her regular Christmas party. It was that night I found myself sprawled out under Naruto, him panting above me. We had been playing football in the yard. The boys had teamed up on us and blitzed, we were trying to turn the game around but I had been tackled.

It was that night that I went with the flow. I ended up dating Naruto for two long months, in which I tried and tried to convince myself that I was in love with him. I wasn't. I still loved Sasuke with everything in me and in the end, he noticed this and almost cheated on me with my friend Hinata's little sister Hanabi.

That night online, I was getting ready to IM my 'boyfriend' and tell him that it needed to end, but Sasuke IMed me first. We started to talk, and half way through our conversation, Sasuke slipped it in. Naruto wanted to break up, and he was too afraid to tell me himself.

KuraFlower328: He what?

DarkEyes723: He…wants to break up.

KuraFlower328: What? Oh thank Kami.

DarkEyes723: Wut?

KuraFlower328: Yeah, I was gonna do that.

DarkEyes723: Oh.

KuraFlower328: Wait. Did he ask you to do it for him? He's online.

DarkEyes723: Yea. He didn't want to.

KuraFlower328: Wow. What a fucking chicken!

DarkEyes723: …He wants to know if he can date Hanabi.

KuraFlower723: Ugh.

Naruto and I didn't talk for awhile after that; just conversed through Sasuke. He ended up dating Hanabi- and then after her several others. He became more and more like Sasuke- dating and dating but not falling in love.

Sasuke was still playing with my heart the beginning of sophomore year, sliding in and out of my grasp faster than I could handle. One second he was holding my hand, the next he was making out with another girl behind a truck.

I wondered when it would end.

It ended finally about six months ago. He met Temari, a junior. She expressed her fondness for him, and he obviously liked her. She began sitting with us at lunch much to my chagrin, and they began holding hands under the table.

It was the start of hell, little did I know.

Temari and I slowly became friends. Acquaintances at first, and then slowly friends, right up until she was the first person on my MySpace top friends. She still is, by the way, and only because I don't know what else to do.

I began to let Sasuke go- thinking that because I was such good friends with Temari now, that it would be for my own sake, and hers if I just admired him in a friendly way. It was just the beginning of this month that everything fell apart.

Sasuke and Naruto are stoners. Sasuke more than Naruto, but Naruto's the one that got him into it in the first place. And they got me into it. Sasuke is more of a stoner, while Naruto's skanky girlfriend takes up most of his time. I'm a drifter. I'll smoke with Sasuke and his crowd, or I'll hang out with the girls. Temari hates it when Sasuke smokes, and that would be because in his world, weed is first. It's wrong, and terribly sad, but its true. I know him down to his core, and I know that it will only change if he falls in love.

I guess I should be happy that even though he tells Temari he loves her- he doesn't, or he'd give up the Mary Jane. But he hasn't, and he continues to date her. Last month while sitting at Kiba's house after partaking in our usual activities.(Kiba would be the stoner that has their house near our school. When we smoke, we smoke at Kiba's. His house is well known.)

Sasuke had been acting strange about Temari and I was itching for the chance to talk to him about it. I had been gluing their relationship together for the last few weeks, trying to prove to myself that I no longer loved the dark-haired hottie.

That day changed everything.

The guys (I was the only girl!) had gone off to play hackey sack in the near-by parking lot. I was wearing sandals, so I couldn't play, not that I'm good at it anyway. Though there were other spots to sit on the porch, he chose to sit really close to me. I played with his hair like I usually do- just a friendly guesture. This time though, I noticed him leaning into my touch.

"What's going on with you?" I asked cautiously, continuing to rake my fingernails across his scalp.

He was silent for awhile, and I finally drew my hand away. "I don't think I want to be with Temari anymore," He told me quietly. I was shocked into silence. "But if I do break up with her, I think there's someone I would wanna date."

I stared at him, curious. "Who?"

He smirked at me, "Figure it out."

I frowned, "Is it that freshman? Uh, Desuka Nikara?"

The girl was obsessed with him. It was a little weird.

"No."

"Then who?"

"Guess."

"Is she in our grade?"

"Yes."

"Do I know her?"

"I think so."

I paused, "You think so?"

"Yeah."

I continued to guess everyone I knew. "Does she sit with us at lunch?"

"Hai."

"Is she single?"

"Mhm."

"Uh." There were only two single girls that sat at our table. And he had already said no to one of them. The other, was me. "No, that can't be right."

"What can't?"

"Nothing?"

"Did you figure it out?"

"Nahh."

"Well when you realize it, it's just gonna like, hit you in the face."

"…"

"You know, don't you?"

"No."

"Tell me."

"It's not right."

"Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know!" I shouted at him, "You tell me."

"No, you tell me."

"Sasuke. There are only two girls at our lunch table that are in our grade and are single. One of them you already said no to. That leaves one."

"Aa."

We talked about it for a few more minutes, getting off the porch and wandering over to the parking lot, past the guys. They waved to us as we walked off, over to where Sasuke was going to be picked up.

"How long has…this….been going on?" I asked.

"I don't know. A while."

"Oh." I bit my lip. "You suck, you know that?"

He looked at me funny, "You…suck…more."

"…Was that an innuendo?" Yes, I won the idiot award for that one.

"…I don't think so…"

"Agh."

"Well, I don't know what's going to happen, but you seem to be taking this pretty well. I don't think it's a good idea to tell Temari. So…just, don't tell her."

"…I wouldn't do that."

He nodded and his ride pulled up. He yanked me into a hug, knocking the breath out of me before he got into the car. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

I nodded, speechless.

That was exactly twenty-one days ago. The same night, Temari called me crying.

"Sakura! He...he doesn't know if he wants…to be with me anymore!"

"What?" I stared at my phone. I hadn't read the caller I.D, and I didn't know who was blabbering on the other end.

"Sasuke!"

"Temari?"

"He said he doesn't know if he wants to be with me!"

It was an interesting conversation to say the least. The girl sounded as if she was completely in love and losing her world, yet she was always texting this other boy. She always said she only liked him, but would never break up with Sasuke for him. I thought it was wrong to even bother with another boy, especially when you say you love someone. I was confused and worried, I didn't want Temari finding out that I was to blame, and I also felt guilty.

My world was falling apart along with hers.

I tried to coax her back into being calm and rational, and soon her phone beeped, signaling Sasuke and I was left with a worried emptiness. Sasuke was talking to her at that very moment and I was shaking. I called my friend Rin to give me advice and she only reminded me of his past treatment. She begged me to say I didn't like him anymore, and I said it quietly. I knew she believed me about as much as I believed myself. As much as I love her, I needed some help, and she wasn't giving me much of that.

The next day was no different. We kept glancing nervously at each other every time she'd come near. She didn't seem to notice, only clung to his arm, hoping to defer him from his current doubts about their relationship. I felt so bad. That weekend was prom, something Temari had been talking about for the last…forever. She'd been looking forward to it. Sasuke was having a terrible day, he kept shrugging her off, leaving me to choose between them. It was hell.

I caught him after lunch at his locker, which was right next to mine.

"Hey."

"Are you okay?" I asked, watching him wearily.

"No. It's like all day the shit has been hitting the fan, and its just smacking me in the face. I feel like crap."

"Oh. Well, we can hit Kiba's later--"

"That's just it," He growled angrily, slamming his locker shut, "I have to go get my stupid fucking tux for prom."

"…Oh..."

He explained to me that he really didn't want to go, but they had already paid and he had promised Temari that even if they broke up he'd go with her as a friend. Later that day, as I was walking the track with Tenten, I saw them. Sasuke had math this period and Temari had jazz band, so I wondered vaguely why they were outside. It was _my_ gym class. The gym class I used to rant and rave and whine. And there they were.

As I explained the situation to Tenten, the girl looked on awkwardly. She'd coo here and there to show me she was still listening, but she didn't have much to say. I have bad eyesight, so when I saw them up against the wall I broke out in a smile, "Are they kissing? Are they making up!?"

"I think she's crying," Tenten told me dully.

And when I looked up as we got closer, sure enough, tears were spiraling down Temari's cheeks as Sasuke talked to her quietly by the back building. "Damn it!" I screeched, biting my lip. "I really hate my life."

I went to Kiba's anyway. My health teacher tells me that marijuana doesn't relieve stress, but I don't care. It feels like it to me, and I really wanted the distinct feeling of being high to drift through my veins. I wanted to think about something other than how everything was falling apart.

It only took Temari and hour to call me after school had ended, begging to know what Sasuke and I had talked about after lunch. Apparently she had seen us. She wanted to tell me what they had talked about during ninth period. Worse, she lived almost directly across from Kiba's. She wanted me to meet her outside, and I had no excuse.

As I told the guys that I'd be right back, I had a bitter taste in my mouth that I later realized was betrayal. I was practically betraying her, keeping this secret. But she opened her mouth first, allowing me to swallow the horrid words I was about to say.

"He likes another girl!" She blurted angrily, her eyes full of fire.

I raised an eyebrow. He had told her? "Who is it?" I asked timidly.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. He just said he likes another girl. When I find out who that skanky slutty whoreish bitch is, I'm going to kick her ass! That'll show Sasuke how much I want to be with him!"

I swallowed subtley. It would be an equal fight if Temari and I ended up in a catfight, but I really didn't want that to happen. She was one of my good friends. I didn't want to fight with her.

But no matter how wrong I knew it was to want Sasuke, I couldn't stop myself. I wanted the boy even though he wasn't mine, but my friend's. I couldn't tell her this though, even as she looked at me with her shining brown eyes. Everything was cracking, and I was afraid that underneath the glass, it wouldn't be as pretty.

* * *

Yeah.

I hate the world. Lol.

REVIEW!


	2. R E A Q U A I N T E D

**_A/N:_ **I'm working as fast as I can, but I also have to update Syd's Coke Den, Drabble Anthology, The Obsidian Petals (WHICH SHOULD BE MY FIRST PRIORITY BUT I'M LAME), Bound and A Line In A Song. Plus, the events are coming together as they happen in reality. However, some things will be altered in this, like people in real life becoming one in this story. I'm editing. Give me a breakkk!

_Disc:_ Me no own NARUTO! So don't sue me, betch. But uh, this horrid situation is my own.

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**F A L L I N G**

C H A P T E R.T W O**:  
**R E-A Q U A I N T E D

_By: you.broke.a.promise_

* * *

The day after Temari had been alerted to Sasuke's reason, she came to me again. I was starting to wonder why it was me she chose. She dragged me off to the complex where there was a boy's varsity baseball game going on. She and our mutual friend Akira were going up to oogle some seniors. I had rolled my eyes and protested, but she had begged.

I really dislike oogling boys that I don't have a chance in the world with. Sure, some are hot, but some are _really_ not. Plus, they're leaving anyway. AND Temari has a boyfriend! HELLO! That's why I was in my current predicament!

I eventually agreed and allowed her to haul me off. We got there and Ino was watching the game- which surprised me. I hadn't talked to her in a long time. Ino, Akira, Temari, and two other girls that we knew sat in the grass together.

Ino started catching me up on her life while Temari listened on awkwardly. Akira was playing with the grass, ripping it up from the ground and letting it flutter out of her hands and leave with the breeze. Her attention however, perked up once Ino asked me how my life was.

Temari took over, which severely annoyed me. She didn't know Ino, and she didn't know me all that well. I wanted to catch up with my blonde friend on my own. In spite of this, she continued talking to Ino, causally slipping herself in.

Ino's eyebrows rose when she heard about Sasuke and she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. She knew, and it amazed me that through all of our time apart, she could read into a situation and still be able to tell what was going on with me even if no evidence had been presented.

Temari continued on, oblivious as ever and Akira listened on intently. I frowned, waiting for my turn but her whole conversation revolved around Sasuke. That is, until her cell phone vibrated.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, pulling it out. "It's Shikamaru!"

I rolled my eyes, this was the other boy she was always texting. I noticed Ino flinch slightly at the name of the pineapple haired male, and noted to ask her about it later when she'd start questioning me about Sasuke.

"I think I'm going to ask him to prom," She gushed, her fingers moving rapidly over the keys.

My jaw dropped, "What? You can't do that. Sasuke already paid for his tux and his ticket. His name is already on the list."

"So? He's the one who's causing all this shit to happen," Temari remarked, watching her phone, waiting for her reply, "He doesn't wanna go anyway."

"He already _paid_," I growled.

"Why do you care so much?" Akira asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Because he's my friend," I told her with a roll of my eyes. I had to keep this as inconspicuous as possible. "Obviously."

"Hmm."

Temari's sigh of disappointment rang in my ears next, "Aww. He can't come with me because he promised his boys he'd be designated driver that night."

"That's too bad," I snarled sarcastically, at the last moment managing to lower my voice so that it sounded more sympathetic.

"I know!" Temari responded with a frown, texting him back. "I told him I really want to hang out though. He said we could do it after I got back from prom."

"I see."

Ino was watching this all with a calm look but her fingernails were digging into my arm. She tapped out a message on my palm; something we used to do in math class when we were stuck on tests. 'What's really going on?'

I tapped one back. 'Make up an excuse to get us out of here and I'll tell you.'

"I have to pee!" She said loudly, making Akira jump.

"So go," Temari told her with a look of aversion, "Jeez."

"Sakura, come with me?" She asked sweetly as she stood, offering her hand.

"'Kay," I responded, taking it and following her to the bathroom. We went in, clambering into a small stall. She locked it and turned to me, hands on her hips. (Well, the best she could get them there in such a small space.)

"What's happening with Sasuke?" Ino asked, raising a blonde eyebrow at me. "And why do I feel like you're the other girl he likes?"

"Cause I am," I muttered shamefully, falling back onto the closed toilet lid. "He likes me. Ironic, ne? After three years of crushing, he's dating my friend and he finally likes me. I'm such a jealous skank."

"You're not a skank," Ino chided, clucking her tongue. "You're a girl with a hardcore crush. With weird-ass friends. Are you that desperate? What happened to you when we grew apart? Oi."

"Shut up, Pig," I frowned, calling her by her child-hood nickname.

She snarked back at me, "Forehead."

I was really starting to wonder how the fuck we grew apart. We were amazing together by nature, she was the peanut butter, I was the jelly. We belonged together, and at that moment I realized how much I had actually missed the blonde beauty in front of me. She was my best friend and she would be forever.

"What's going on with you and Shikamaru?" I asked suddenly remembering.

Ino flinched and tried to cover it up but I had seen it again, "Nothing."

"Hey," I growled, "I'm sitting here sharing my misery with you, Pig. Share yours. What's going on with you and Shikamaru?"

"We had something going on," She said quietly, "It's over now."

"Oh," I said quietly, looking at the tiles on the bathroom floor. I was going to have to ask her more about that at a different time, she didn't seem very comfortable with it right now so I figured I'd just give her some room and maybe she'd open up to me like she used to do when we were younger.

"Yeah."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Ahh. I just don't know what to do."

"Well, we'll have to fix this," Ino decided, opening the stall and sticking her head of white blonde hair out of the opening. "Coast's clear. Let's move. Text your skanky friend and tell her you're going home with me."

"Why?"

"Cause we have a lot of shit to catch up on," She responded, fixing her hair in the bathroom mirror. "God, it's so dirty in here."

"I know," I replied after I sent the text moving my foot to avoid a piece of chewed gum, "They really should have more sanitary bathrooms."

It only took us a few minutes to get to Ino's from the complex and the ride to her house was comfortable, missed. She blasted the music, LoveHateHero, one of our old favorites as we rode towards her abode. We talked about the situation a little more in detail over the music, and I leaned my head against the door frame, letting the breeze of the open window swish over me. It was comforting, homey. Once we'd arrived, she pulled me into her house for some ice cream, which she set in front of me at my place at her table.

"Strawberry," She said, grinning.

I sighed dreamily, taking a bite and waited for her to start questioning me. I hadn't even gotten to my second bite before she did.

"My only question," Ino said as I raised an eyebrow at her, "Is what do you want? Do you want him or do you want to forget about him?"

I frowned, focusing on the coldness on my tongue. "I don't know," I told her earnestly, "I want him but it's wrong, I know I should just forget about him but it seems impossible. I mean, he renewed my hope, the hope I thought I'd thrown in a trash can six months ago."

"Hmm," Ino mused, shoving another overly large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. She sucked on it for a moment before swallowing. "You need to be positive about what you want before I can help you achieve it."

"You're so deep," I teased.

"Shut up," Ino backcombed.

"You first," I grinned.

"I'm serious though, Sakura," Ino said after a moment. "Do you want closure for that boy, or do you want to have something with him? He's been twisting your heart around and you just keep bending over backwards. I know we've grown apart but I thought you would've told the boy to back off! He's been walking all over you since eighth grade, Forehead. Seriously."

I nodded, looking down at my strawberry ice cream. At this rate, my world was melting, just like the sugary treat that I loved.

* * *

The next day at school was pretty boring. Temari was still watching Sasuke like a hawk, but somehow missing the looks he was shooting at me. We hadn't gotten to talk about anything concerning his 'feelings' for me, and it was killing me.

He caught me at my locker two periods later though. "Hey."

I looked up, "Hey."

"You going to Kiba's after school?" He asked, looking down at me.

"Uh, I don't know. I think he has detention. But I do have a joint with me I wanna cut open and smoke in a bowl," I replied, glancing at him.

Sasuke looked thoughtful, "I have to stay after for Spanish for a few minutes to talk to Mrs. Hanna, but if you'll stay with me, we can chill. I have my piece."

I knew it was a bad idea, I really did. But he was just so delicious looking, and his eyes only voiced sincerity. "Alright."

"Sweet. Meet me at Mrs. Hanna's room after school."

"Okay," I responded.

At that moment, Temari came up to us. "Whatcha guys talkin' about?" She asked playfully tugging on Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke said nothing so I figured I had to.

"Just weed plans," I told her honestly.

Her nose wrinkled unpleasantly, "Oh."

"Yeah," I didn't understand how they had dated for six months if she couldn't accept that weed was a big part of his life. He smoked it a lot, and he really was a slight pot head. Still she continued to fight with him over it, constantly infuriating him.

"Well," She turned to Sasuke, "I have practice after school. Maybe you can stop by after…?"

It was obvious what she was implying and as she moved in for the kiss, I moved to leave. Sasuke caught my gaze for a moment before I began to walk away. And as I did, I heard his answer.

"…No…I already made other plans…"

* * *

I met Sasuke outside of Mrs. Hanna's room just after the last bell. He was shifting back and forth on his feet nervously as I approached. He looked up as he heard my echoing footfalls and I saw his anxiety slip away.

"Think I was gonna stand ya up?" I asked with a smile.

"Nah," He replied, pulling out his sliver iPod nano and shoving in his white and blue skull candy head phones, "Ready to get out of this hell hole?"

"Hell yeah," I responded fighting the vibe to pump a fist into the air.

"So I have to meet with the dealer up on the tracks and then we can go do whatever," He told me as we walked out the front door of the school.

I agreed. The tracks are the train tracks that run up behind the school and go through the town. A lot of drug deals go down up there; and we smoke up there sometimes. Sasuke got caught up there with a group at the beginning of the year and was kicked off varsity football. Fortunately for him, he was needed too much on modified for them to kick him off.

When we got up there, the dealer was waiting patiently on the tracks, sitting with three girls, smoking a bowl. I knew all three of them. One was a freshman, she was really tiny. The others were sophomores, one of my friends and the new girl, who'd already dated every scumbag that was around. The dealer was a friend of mine, but not a close one. He usually tried to hit on me, claiming my pink hair made me stand out against the others. I always said something nice in return, but sent out the message that his extra attention wasn't wanted. Thankfully, he was the kind of guy who didn't hold a grudge. He never gypped me on my purchases and he never sold me anything bad or laced. Naruto was up there as well, his skanky girlfriend eating his face off. I cringed and Sasuke moved nicely in front of the view I didn't need.

I kept a smirk on my face as my savior handed over some cash. In return, he was handed a quarter. One of the girls, the freshman, offered the bowl up to me in a silent invitation. I took a hold of it, opening my other hand for a lighter. The girl opened her purse and reached inside to get one but suddenly Sasuke's hand was over mine. I looked up, my eyes finding his. After a moment, he drew his hand away and in mine sat his favorite blue lighter.

I raised an eyebrow at him- he usually didn't share his lighter with anyone. Deciding not to ask questions, I grasped it and lit the bowl, cherrying it and taking a hit before handing him the girl's piece. After we packed and smoked another bowl, Sasuke tugged at my arm. I looked over at him- his eyes were glazed over and red, contrasting to the dark onyx of his irises.

My eyes never turned red. I don't know why. I must've had a pretty large tolerance, because it also took a lot to get me really high. I stood as Sasuke smacked knuckles with the dealer and we walked along the tracks to the bench. The bench was this little space in a big ditch on the side of the tracks. You needed to move over to it and look down before you could actually see the little area. They called it the bench because there used to be a bench there and although I think that's a stupid name for an area when the reason for its name is no longer there, everyone knows where 'The Bench' is.

We careened our way into it, sliding down and settling ourselves on these two logs that resided in there. Sasuke scooted over on his log to make room for me but I pretended not to notice. The longer I could resist, the better.

He said nothing about my obliviousness, just opened his hand for the joint I had mentioned earlier. I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to him. He pulled it open gently and I watched as the contents spilled out onto his pants.

"Shit," He mumbled as the wind blew. "Can you try to block that for me?"

"Sure," I said, moving a little closer and shielding his lap from the wind. I could feel _his _hair on my face and I knew that if I tilted my head up, we'd be touching noses.

He continued to pack his bowl with the weed, adding some of his own to it. Once it was packed and he'd put the remainder of his weed in his pocket, I leaned back onto my log, watching him cautiously.

He looked up at me, silent for a moment. "Come over here."

I sighed, moving to get up, "You're just too lazy to reach over and hand me the bowl."

"That's a possibility," He said with a small half-smile, "Where'd Naruto and his girlfriend go?"

"I have no idea," I told him honestly.

"I thought they were going to smoke with us."

"Well maybe it's better that they didn't come," I said casually. "They'd probably just be mackin' it anyway. Personally, I don't find the sight very pleasant."

Sasuke chuckled for a moment, "Yeah, neither do I. They probably went off to screw. But then, they have had sex outside." I raised an eyebrow, turning to look at him. "So have I," He added proudly.

I blinked, unsure of what to say, "Uh…alright."

We passed the bowl back and forth until the greens were gone and all that was left was ash and resign. Sasuke sighed, smacking the bowl upside down into his palm and then tipping it, letting the ash dissipate with the wind. He brushed his hands off and shoved his lighter and his bowl into his sweatshirt pocket before he turned abruptly to me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the look on his face made me stop. "What is it?"

"…Nothing," He answered after a moment, ripping his gaze away. I frowned and stood up, stretching. He stood up as well and we walked away from the bench and back out onto the tracks.

The thing I didn't realize that day was that gossipers of this world were malnourished. When they saw us, I should've known something would go around. Too bad I didn't know how terrible it would be.

* * *

Lots of illegal activity in this chapter.

But all those other high school fics are like, 'Ooh, high school is all cliques, its bad but not that bad' but really there's a lot of drugs and drama. Trust me, I know what goes on in my high school, thank you very much. ;)

N E X T.C H A P T E R**:  
**R U M O R

Anyway, REVIEW my loves!


	3. R U M O R

**A/N:** Hey. This'll be the last chapter until I update Obsidian Petals with chapter 16 and Bound, (Which hasn't been updated in _forever_) and possibly **Alphabet Soup**, which is on mine and Ebil Chameleon's JOINT ACCOUNT. El linko to Tempting Kunoichis is in under my 'faves' in my bio. :D

Disc: NO. NO NO NO NO NO. I AM NOT WORTHY.

* * *

**F A L L I N G **

C H A P T E R.T H R E E**:  
**R U M O R

_By: you.broke.a.promise_

* * *

The following day was perfectly normal. Sasuke and I were still having that awkwardness around Temari, and Temari was still oblivious as ever. It was getting tiring to keep lying to her, and I couldn't wait to get home. As I jumped on the bus, I let out a long, contented sigh. No drama today- that was a first. Unfortunately for me, it was Thursday, two days after our little 'pot-smoking' fiasco that the shit _really_ hit the fan.

I mean, _really_.

But hang on. Let me make something very clear to you all: I am _not _pot head. Not at all. I smoke sometimes, I know stuff about marijuana, but I don't smoke constantly. I have a life outside of weed. I remember my ABC's, I can count to 150 easily, I know how to spell obsequiousness. _And _I also know what it means. So, trust me, there are people who are way worse than I am. For instance, Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba. Even Tenten and Ino have smoked before. So give me a break. At least the only subject I'm currently in danger of failing is math. And math just sucks for everyone.

Anyway.

Temari had been continuing to wrap herself around Sasuke, curling herself into him all the time. It was getting irritating. During lunch that day, fifth period, I was sitting across from him. He was tired, and he laid his head down on his arms, closing his eyes. Temari's own dark ones narrowed in on him, frowning as she reached up behind his head to rake her fingernails through his hair.

Even I know the boy hates to be touched when he's sleeping in public. Plus, I don't think he knew it was her. So without opening his eyes or raising his head, he swatted her hand away. She looked at his motionless form in horror, holding her hand to her chest.

And I sat there, thinking, 'Kami, woman. He didn't even actually touch your hand!' But then her eyes filled with tears, and I began to feel guilty that Sasuke was trying to play footsie with me at that exact moment. Oh, how cruelly the world doth work these days.

Bah. So while Akira, who was on Temari's other side tried to calm her, I took that moment to lean across the table and whisper easily in Sasuke's ear, "What's wrong?"

He opened one eyes and looked at me calmly, "I think you know."

I frowned, slipping back down into my seat as Temari sniffled and wiped at her eyes with her hand. "Sasuke-kun," She cooed, no traces of her past distress, "What are you doing after-school?"

"I don't know, probably going to Kiba's," He answered, his eyes still closed.

The bastard was still playing footsie with me under the table.

"Oh. Well, do you wanna come over?"

"I don't know," He answered.

The bell rang, signaling lunch was over, "Will you walk me to my locker?" He frowned, but nodded, eyes not meeting mine. I looked at Temari, her shoulders were no longer slumped as she opened her mouth in a loud shriek of, "Yay!"

* * *

I have sixth period with Temari, and Sasuke walked her to it. As they kissed in the doorway, I looked away, planting my eyes on the paper in front of me. Class started and Sasuke disappeared from the room down the hall to his biology class.

I turned around in my seat, my friend from the other day, Shibia was sitting behind me. She was one of the girls sitting with the dealer the day Sasuke and I were on the tracks. I said hello to her and we chatted idly until Mr. Derby clapped his hands.

Our teacher moved to the front of the room, grasping the light switch as he spoke, "We'll be watching that 45 minute clip of WWI."

I sighed, at least I could pass out this period. And I did, for about half of it. When I woke up it was because I was being nudged. There was a note on the corner of my desk, and from who, I didn't know. I opened it up, my eyes slicing across the paper.

**I know what you did.**

**I have to expose you.**

I raised an eyebrow and looked around me. Right, left- Temari was crying, she was in the row to my left, one seat back. I frowned, ripping the threatening note across the bottom to use it. I wrote on it, and slipped it onto her desk.

She ignored it, and I knew she'd seen it.

Annoyed, I grabbed it back and wrote more,  
**What's wrong?  
**…**Why won't you answer me? Are you mad at me or something?  
W****hat's going on, Temari?**

I folded it and chucked it at her, getting more irritated by the second. It hit her in the arm and she had no choice but to look at it. She pulled it open, looked at it and grabbed her pencil. When it got it back, it said this:  
**Idk if I'm mad at you. I have to find out something first.**

I frowned, scribbling back,  
**Figure out what?**

She glanced at me suspiciously,  
**Were you on the hill yesterday? **

I frowned. There was only one hill she could be talking about, and that was the one out front that had the trimmed bushes on it, spelling out KHS. I turned and looked at her, shaking my head. Tears were still streaming down her face but she looked away from me. Instead, she looked down at what I had written,  
**No, I wasn't. I went home yesterday. Why?**

She bit her lip, writing the words,  
**Someone told me something.**

I scowled, trying not to press the pen too hard down on the paper,  
**And this something involves me?**

She blinked at me as if I was dumb before handing it over,  
**Yes, and someone else.**

I was growing increasingly annoyed,  
**Uh, okay. And that would be?**

She handed it back quickly,  
**I was told you were making out with Sasuke on the hill yesterday.**

I blanched. WHO SAY WHAT?!  
**What? NO! Who said that?**

She narrowed her eyes at me,  
**I can't tell you, I promised them I wouldn't. So you weren't on the hill yesterday?**

I was getting really frustrated,  
**No. No I wasn't. Call my fucking parents. I can't believe you think I'd actually help him cheat on you. **

Which I wouldn't. We both knew each other was off limits while Sasuke was in a relationship, no matter how hard that was. Plus, I knew it was wrong. It was so, so wrong to like him when he was dating her, but he wasn't even trying to make me like him, all he had to do was tell me he had feelings for me and I was his again. It was the most annoying thing ever, even more so when I read what she had written in response,  
**Well. I don't know. You guys _are_ really close.**

I was thoroughly insulted. Of course we're close. We're best friends. We have been for a long time. Just because I like him and he likes me and YOU DON'T KNOW THAT...doesn't mean I would fricken help him cheat on you, fool. I'm not a heartless bitch. I only wish I had written that instead of,  
**Whatever, Temari. Just, whatever.**

And that was the end to our notes. She laid one on my desk as we were leaving and I made a show of tossing it into the trash as I left the room. She actually thought I would let Sasuke cheat on her with me? Really? Whatever.

I walked down the hall towards my studyhall and watched in horror as several people tried to subtly point at me in the midst of their conversations. Apparently_ everyone_ thought Sasuke and I made out. It was infuriating. A freshman walked up to me, the epitome of a girl on a mission.

"Did you _really_ make out with Uchiha Sasuke?"

I tried to restrain myself from growling at her, "NO."

"Isn't he dating Subaku no Temari?"

Did this underclassmen REALLY want to get eaten? "Yes."

"Then why would you make out with him?"

"I DIDN'T. Get away from me." Thankfully, I saw Sasuke coming out of Bio and ran to catch up with him. "Sasuke! Sasuke, wait."

He stopped, turning to look at me, confused. As I began to explain the situation, he looked slightly panicked. "She thinks I cheated?"

"Yes. And she thinks I helped you."

"You're fucking kidding me."

"'Fraid not."

"Damn it!" He cursed, slamming his fist into a locker, "I'm not a fucking cheater. I should've just broken up with her in the first place, Sakura."

"Ah, hey. Don't get all huffy at me," I frowned, wrinkling my nose.

"You told me not to break up with her," he deadpanned.

"She's my friend! And yes, that's right. I didn't want you to break up with her for me."

He sighed, turning and began to walk down the hall. Just as he was about to turn the corner, he stopped, looking at me. "Sorry," He mouthed and I nodded, a small smile on my lips.

Despite the current situation, I still loved that boy with all of me.


	4. P L U M M E T I N G

**A/N: **Well. I didn't update Bound yet, but that'll be next. Here's the fourth chapter, and not a lot really happens, just to forewarn you. Right now I'm watching the GREEK marathon, so I'm just trying to get this done so I can focus on it. I love GREEK. It makes me want to DANCE.

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**F A L L I N G**

C H A P T E R.F O U R**:  
**P L U M M E T I N G

_By: you.broke.a.promise_

* * *

Gym class was last period. I usually looked forward to it- since the year was coming to a close, we didn't do much, all we had to do was change to get credit and walk the track. Usually we walked in groups, chatting until we were shoved inside because of the bell signaling the end of the day.

Well this gym class didn't start out so good. Temari, clad in her softball uniform, opened the locker room door the same time I was about to pull it open. We stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before she brushed past me and started talking to another sophomore. I raised an eyebrow and walked deeper into the locker room where I changed into my gym clothes before returning to the door.

She was still standing in the way, talking to the same girl. I sighed, waiting for her to move, but she must've thought I was waiting for her. She was ignoring me and I was growing annoyed. As I began to lose my cool and started to open my mouth, she said goodbye to her friend and turned to me.

"We need to talk."

"Mmm," I replied.

"Look. I …I don't know what happened but that's just not something I want to hear after him telling me he likes another girl."

"I'm just insulted you think I'd help your boyfriend cheat on you."

"He's like, your best guy friend, Sakura."

"So?"

"So, I figured you would do it. It doesn't help at all that he's pretty."

"…"

"I don't think you did it, okay?"

"Yes, you do."

"No I don't!"

"Then why were you crying?" I asked, clearly frustrated.

"Because like I said! It's just not something I want to hear!"

"Temari. You thought I made out with your boyfriend. Otherwise you wouldn't have been like 'I have to figure something out' when I asked you if you were mad at me."

"Ugh!" She frowned, "I believe you!"

"Oh really?"

"You know what, Sakura? Fuck you!"

"Whatever, Temari," I responded, walking out into the gym.

I looked up as another sophomore called my name. "What was that about?" She asked.

I shook my head, annoyed.

Tenten walked up to me, a blank expression on her face.

"I don't think we were loud enough. Austrailia didn't hear us," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

She just looked at me sympathetically.

I was furious again when school ended- absolutely furious. The question of who had told Temari about this ludicrous rumor was eating at me constantly. People around me hassled me for the last hours of the day, demanding to know the whole story so that _they_ could determine if it were true or not.

Argh.

I saw Rin in the hallway and grasped her forearms tightly as I explained what had happened. She looked at me evenly and then asked very seriously if I had done it. WAS MY CRUSH REALLY THAT OBVIOUS?! DID THEY REALLY DEEM ME AS SUCH AN ODIOUS PERSON THAT I WOULD COMPROMISE SASUKE'S FAITHFULNESS TO HIS GIRLFRIEND!?

I stomped angrily out of the school building, followed by Tenten. I was spewing angry words as we walked past 'The Crew'. On the far side of the front walk, I could see Temari and Sasuke up close to the Tennis Courts. They were yelling rather loudly at each other, but I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying.

Temari ran past me, a twisted look of enraged disappointment on her face. I sighed, ready to make amends and listen to her upset, angry ranting about Sasuke but she didn't stop. She completely ignored me as she disappeared back inside the school. I threw my hands up into the air, let out an angry yowl and marched towards Sasuke.

He was half-way up the hill when I shouted to him, "Sasuke! Hey!"

He turned, looking straight at me and stopped, waiting for me to catch up. Beside me, Tenten sighed in an annoyed tone and I turned, glowering at her. When I'd caught up, we walked up the hill.

Once again we ended up on the tracks with the dealer, who was passing another bowl around. After taking a couple hits, we walked off, flanked by Tenten still.

"What're you here for?" I asked her quietly when Sasuke slipped ahead of us.

"To make sure you don't fuck everything up," She hissed back.

Typical Tenten, feisty and harsh, ready to jump into a fight at a moment's notice. The sunlight flitted off her chestnut brown hair and her eyes glinted as she looked crossly at Sasuke. Her hair was down today, strange for her. It was flowing nicely over her shoulders instead of sitting on top of her head in two distinct buns. I frowned as I contemplated her words before I walked ahead and kept pace with Sasuke, leaving her slightly behind me.

It was like she didn't trust me alone with him. Did she believe that stupid rumor, too?!

I sighed, looking at him out of the corner of my eye. He seemed calm and collected, but I noticed his hands were shaking. His hands normally shook (I think it's bad circulation or something) but this was horrid. His hands were practically spazzing.

"Sasuke?" He glanced out of the corner of his dark eye at me.

"Hn?"

I frowned, "You okay?"

He didn't answer, just kept walking. I was struggling to keep pace with him- he was a fast wobbler (that's the only way to describe his walk. NO ONE'S PERFECT, OKAY?!) and he seemed to notice this and slowed down to my pace.

Tenten was lagging behind us but at the moment, I really didn't give a damn. I was kind of mad at everyone _except _Sasuke, although I knew that was the wrong idea to have. We got off the tracks and took the path down past the hair salon and onto the street. It was there that I spotted Kiba, Neji, Shino, and Chouji.

Kiba had brown crazy hair that was mostly unkempt. His eyes flitted over us and he smiled, lifting a hand to wave. The red triangles on his cheeks were this new thing he had convinced the school was cool, but he'd been keeping them on his face for awhile. I sometimes wondered if he'd look stranger than normal without them. His house was the stoner house that we were on our way to.

Neji, was Tenten's off and on again crush. The girl was confused as hell towards whether or not she liked him and half the time we avoided him like the plague. He obviously liked her, but he was shy about his feelings, he liked to pretend he didn't feel them. And he was a bit arrogant and full of himself as well. Kiba didn't really like him, but he also had nothing against him. He usually ended up at Kiba's anyway.

Shino was quiet mostly, and he liked Tenten. Neji and Shino were pretty close friends, and they tended to avoid Tenten when they were together just so they wouldn't fight over her. The brown-eyed girl at my back liked them both, but it was obvious who she liked more.

Chouji was one of Kiba's best friends. He lived just down the street and was just about _always _at Kiba's. They practically lived together. The funniest part of the day was when Chouji would scour the kitchen, come up with nothing and then disappear. Fifteen minutes later, he'd return with a bowl of cereal, a bag of chips or some odd thing that he'd gone to his house for. He was eating constantly.

I sighed, glancing back at Tenten for a moment. She seemed to have tensed up, but had caught up with us as we were making our way towards 'The Crew'. I watched as she and Neji gave each other the up-down, Shino occupied by our arrival.

As we walked the rest of the way to Kiba's, I adapted the idea that being with Sasuke _now_ after the rumor today, was probably a bad thing. Ignoring the feeling, we ended up behind Kiba's in the parking lot, near where Sasuke had told me the life-changing news. Tenten and I sat down on the top of an elevated cellar while the boys began to play more hackey-sack.

My phone rang suddenly, and I answered it, it was my mother, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. Your mom."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really."

"Yes. I uhm, I need to tell you something."

"What's that?" I asked coyly, my mother and I weren't on good terms.

Her name is Lyoko. She and I used to be really close because it had just been us for awhile. But then my grades dropped and I had to move in with my dad. After that, she met Mizuki, who she apparently fell in love with.

Mizuki has a heart condition, one that was sporadic and unpredictable. He could have a heart attack at any moment and die, which had me pondering why you'd wanna be with someone who could drop dead at any moment. Anyway, she basically dropped her entire life, sold our house and moved my cats in with my grandma while she went off to texas to be a truck driver.

…Yeah, I know.

She was back now, but we had been fighting more than ever and she moved an hour away. I paused, waiting for her answer. She seemed to be taking forever to give it to me, as if she was collecting herself.

"…Mischeif died. He got hit by a car."

…Great. That's exactly what I wanted to hear, Mother. My cat got hit by a car, one of my best friends thinks I made out with her boyfriend, the others think I'm ridiculous, a majority of the school thinks I'm a super-slut and I'm failing math. Wonderful.

"Do you know who?"

"They didn't stop."

By the end of the phone call my mother was crying and I was so pissed off that once she'd hung up, I chucked the phone half-way across the lot. Tenten watched as I crawled into myself, hiding behind my hair as she stood up and walked to get the phone.

"Did you throw that?" Shino asked, and I could only nod, for fear if I spoke, I might scream.

I was at my breaking point. I was freaking out internally. My day was getting worse and worse and I was plummeting into a blackness I was afraid I couldn't escape.

* * *

I'm annoyed, let me say. I'm fricken annoyed.  
I got into a fight with my dad today, that will be in later chapters. Haha.

Ay-yi-yi.

Alright.

Review, please.


	5. L A U G H T E R

**A/N: **So. Yes. I don't know. Remember that not everything that happens in this story actually happened in real life. Some of it did, and some of it's based, but some of it I just stuck in here to give it a twist. For instance, I'm not a total-druggie. Lol. There won't be another update for this until I have _finished_ The Obsidian Petals, WHICH WILL BE SOON(ish!) OH MY GODDD! I know, right? -Ahem.- Oh, yes, about the name change. Ehehe. Uhm. Well. Blah! Just don't anybody steal my old penname! I will go all psycho Kyuubi on yo' ass! XD

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**F A L L I N G  
****  
**C H A P T E R.F O U R**:  
**L A U G H T E R

_By: AGENT RACH_

* * *

A few days had gone by and Kiba commented to me one morning in Geometry that he hadn't seen me around much. It was odd because he was _right_. I hadn't been going to his house lately, for fear of getting too careless and letting everything spill.

"Oh," I said, scrambling for an excuse. "I've just been really busy with all this end of school crap."

He nodded and flashed me a grin, "I gotcha."

He was one of the ones I suspected knew all about Sasuke's current uhm, disability. The one where he _thought _he liked me. I was positive that he was just confused and disoriented at the moment. He couldn't possibly like me for real- not after all these friggin' years.

Agh.

The thought actually kind of bothered me. I mean, seriously. Who could actually do that? It was supposed to be some fairy tale thing, where you wait patiently and then you get the guy in the end. PAH. Yeah _right._

I'm not one of those kind of girls, God knows I wish I was. But that whole Cinderella ending seamed too surreal for me to believe in. So I just didn't.

The day was going smoothly until I saw Temari approach. I calmed myself, ready to be screamed at once again. Fortunately for me, she was there to do just the opposite. "Hey. Uhm, can we talk?"

I sighed, and followed her over to the corner where she bent down and situated herself. I started to wonder why she was currently crouching. I raised an eyebrow at her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm hiding. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Oh?"

"I just lost my temper."

"I see."

"Do you forgive me?" She asked, pulling on one of my pant legs.

I bent down, leveling her with a blank stare. I could see the tears in her eyes, threatening to cascade down her face and I gave in, "I guess so."

* * *

Lunch was next and I had popped a muscle relaxer just before Health class to calm my nerves and take the edge off when Temari started going on about how she and Sasuke were going to get together later on to _physically _make up. Ugh.

So by lunch, my body just wanted to pass out and be blissfully un-aware of everything around me. So that's what I did. I laid out my health folder, claimed my usual spot between Sasuke and one of the other boys and dropped my head onto the table. My neck was too relaxed to keep my big head up anymore anyway. Sasuke and came and sat down a second later.

"You okay?" He asked, his hand on my shoulder blade.

"Mhm," I replied dreamily, getting ready to drown in a pool full of chocolate. His voice was pulling me out of my dream, but thankfully he shut up and pulled his hand away as Temari made her appearance.

Across the table, one of the stoners sat, prodding me, asking me to go up and get lunch. I, of course, was completely ignoring him. I had woken up a little, and was getting ready to drag my head up off the table to tell him to can it, and I was surprised when Sasuke did it for me.

"Leave her alone," He muttered darkly, successfully shutting everyone up. I could feel the tension around me, and I heard Temari vaguely ask him if he was okay. And then I kinda passed out again.

Later that day, I was walking into global when I saw Sasuke. He waved me out, looking particularly shady when he did. I stood up and walked to the door, slipping out to talk to him.

Apparently, he and Temari had already made up on the phone last night. When she told me, I had to struggle not to roll my eyes.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused as to why he'd want to talk to _me_ instead of his _girlfriend_, who he was apparently going to get _physical_ with later.

"I just wanted to see how you were. I know you weren't feeling too good last period," He said, peering down at me.

I nodded and opened my mouth to answer, but he ducked behind the doorframe, "What the hell are you doing?" I asked again.

"I'm hiding from Temari," He answered quietly.

"I thought you guys made up?"

"We did," He informed me, "That's why I'm hiding."

Unfortunately for both of us, said girl appeared behind me, "Sasuke! Sasuke-kun, Whatcha doing?"

She moved in to kiss him and I stumbled back a bit. Temari gave me a weird look and Sasuke blinked, an unknown look in his dark eyes.

At that point, I removed myself. I was still literally standing between them. Grumbling to myself, I made it back to my desk. Thank you, God, for that symbolism. I could've done without.

I was positive that whoever happened to be watching and knew what was going on was cracking up. Stupid people, stupid girl, stupid boy, stupid, stupid, stupid!

That night, Temari called.

"Hey," I responded lazily, grasping the phone to my ear, "What's up?"

"Sasuke-kun, duhh!" She responded cheerfully.

My heart clenched. This was another Sasuke-centric phone call about just how fabulous and amazing he was.

"Sasuke-_kun_'s up, huh?" I decided to take a comedic approach, "What exactly are you doing over there, Tem?"

"You're hilarious, Sakura-chan," She replied, "I mean tomorrow's arbor day and I think I wanna get him a present!"

"Uh, why?" I asked, confused.

"Because I love him, durrr!"

I was fighting myself, wanting to grind my teeth.

"…right. Uh, go ahead, get him a present then."

"Well I don't know what to get him! That's why I called you," She explained, "You know him best! What should I buy?"

I covered the phone so that my laughter wasn't evident. Once I had gained control of myself, I replied, "What to get the boy who has everything…hmm."

"Yeah," She agreed, "I can't get him an amazing girlfriend, he's already got one!"

"…"

"So I was thinking candy."

"No," I challenged, "He can't eat chocolate. He's got a digestive problem. It's too acidy. It'll give him a stomach ache."

"Oh," She sounded surprised, "Okay, uh. I don't know then."

"Sorry, me either," I muttered.

"Well, thanks for the help, Sakura," She sighed and then made an exclamation sound, "I know! I'll buy new lingerie set! He'll love it."

"Yeah...cause I'd know what he'd love in _that _department. So, O-okay, bye!" I responded quickly, clicking the phone off.

Ew. Temari. No.

Yucky!

I love her and all, she's my friend, despite her tendency to be completely ridiculous, but SERIOUSLY. I don't wanna know! Just like I didn't wanna know about all the different places they'd done the dirty. A graveyard? For serious? I'd feel like millions of dead people were watching me! And hello?! RESPECT THE DECEASED?!

Bah.

Friday, or Arbor Day, rolled around rather quickly. It was the one day of the year that we could do whatever the hell we wanted. Roam free on school grounds, they had rock band and guitar hero set up in a couple classrooms, ping pong, basketball, there were old cartoons in the auditorium on the pull down screen.

Temari sat out front on one of the benches, waiting for Sasuke. I was hanging out with Tenten for a bit, before she went in search of Shino. She was rebounding from Neji, apparently he had been his usual jerk again the night before.

I still couldn't find her a few hours later and I was getting annoyed. The brunette was supposed to come to my house after school and I hadn't seen her all day! It was when the last bell rang, signaling time to head home, that she appeared.

Temari and I were standing out by the buses. My frown was perturbing some of the boys and my friend, (Rin's cousin) Tai had his arm wrapped around my waist. I was leaning on him when she came ripping down the hill, "Sakura!"

"Tenten!" I exclaimed, frowning and pulling away from Tai slightly, "Where were you!?"

"I was at Shino's," came the reply.

"What? You left the school?? And _without_ me?!"

"Uh, sorry," She said, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't believe you ditched me for Shino," I drawled.

Tai and Temari were both silent, looking at her accusingly.

"I didn't!"

"Oh! Really? Then what do you call it?" I asked.

"…I'm sorry…I have to go get my stuff."

She turned and ran into the school.

"I gotta go, I'm gonna miss my bus," Tai told me, squeezing my side before letting go and moving in the direction of his bus.

Temari sighed, "Hey, uh, wanna come over?"

"I guess," I told her and we began walking up the hill.

I was ranting on about how insensitive _some _people could be when Temari pulled out her phone, proving my point. "I'm calling Sasuke," She told me.

Really? Wasn't I talking? Oh, you were tuning me out? Psh.

A minute later, "Oh. Hey! Yeah, is Sasuke there?" A pause. "What? No. What happened?" Another pause, "OH MY GOD, IS HE OKAY?"

I sighed, ignoring her outburst.

"OH MY GOD," She repeated.

_Silence._

"SERIOUSLY!? HOW IS HE?"

I continued to play mute.

"Okay! Okay, have him call me. Oh my god. Yeah, thank you! Uh, okay. Bye," She closed the phone and quickened her pace, "OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. JUST...OHMYGOD!"

I rolled my eyes, realizing she wasn't going to let up until I asked about him, "Uh, Temari, what happened?"

"…HE KNOCKED HIS TWO FRONT TEETH OUT!"

"…"

"SAKURA!"

"Well, is he okay?" I asked, only slightly worried.

Really now. If he wasn't fine, she'd have said something by now and wouldn't be playing drama queen. So I wasn't about to play it for her. I'm really not going to jump up and down and cry because he did whatever he did to himself. He was alive and breathing and obviously out at the doctor's right? I mean--

"Yeah, he's fine! But he like, fell and smashed his face into counter! He left a dent! His two front teeth are all messed up. God, that's horrible isn't it? Poor Sasuke-kun and his pretty face. And his yummy mouth. Oh, and his lips! He split the bottom one open! I won't be able to kiss him for awhile without hurting him! How awful is that?" She didn't wait for me to respond, probably knowing that I wasn't going to, "He didn't get his teeth replaced yet, though. He was going to do that, that's why he wasn't home."

And then I cracked up.

When I was younger, I knocked a tooth out. I felt his pain. I had been running through the house, chasing after a kitten I had just gotten.

Mom didn't tell me she'd just mopped the kitchen floor.

My face smashed up against the dish-washer and I lost a side tooth, which they promptly replaced with a fake one. Remembering this, caused me to grimace and then laugh even more as I imagined Sasuke without two front teeth. Smiling at me. Smirking. TALKING FOR GOD'S SAKE. I imagined his voice sounding like Daffy Duck's... And then there was that song!

'_All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth! All I want for Christmas is my…'_

Of course my cackling got worse and it was just as her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked. "Sasuke-kun! _Are you okay_?!"

I started to chuckle again.

"No, Sasuke-kun. Who do you think it is? Sasuke-kun? I'm not the one--Hello?" She turned away from me, her face a mask of anger, "He hung up on me, Sakura! He hung up on me because of you! It's all your fault!"

"Huh?" I asked, my laughter dying, albeit slowly.

"It's your damn fault!"

I blinked at her, "Excuse me? How is it _my_ fault that Sasuke knocked his teeth out?"

"He hung up because he thought I was laughing at him!"

"And it's my fault he thought you were me?"

"Yes!"

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, "How so?"

"It just is!" She began stomping away.

"Oh, please!" I retorted, annoyed now. We were coming up to the cross walk. The crossing guard was getting out of her car which was parked next to the sidewalk. "It's not my fault and you know it! Sasuke'll get over it eventually anyway. How was I to know he was that sensitive about it?"

"It was cruel to laugh!" The crossing guard was staring.

"I asked if he was okay!" I defended.

"Ugh! Whatever!"

"Whatever yourself!"

And Temari ran around the corner. The crossing guard turned to me, "Do you need to uh…cross, sweetie?"

I sighed, looking up at her and pasting a smile on when I saw her worried look, "Yes, please."

As I walked across the road, I yanked out my cell phone and dialed Sasuke's number. He picked up on the second ring, "WHAT?"

"Uhm, Sasuke?"

"Sakura?"

"Look, it wasn't Temari's fault."

"What?"

"Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry. I was laughing in the background and I--"

"Wow. I don't want to talk to you right now. Fuck you," And then I heard a click.

I bit my lip as the phone signaled Sasuke's hang up and I closed my eyes, reaching the far side of the road.

Things just weren't going my way as of late.

* * *

Well, there it is! Review, please! :D

It's my birthday in three days! Yay for Rach! And Rach needs birthday/present reviews cause she doesn't know when she'll be updating again cause she got A JOB!

OH MY GOSH!

:)

Lovels and lovels to y'all.


	6. F A L L E N

_A/N: Bored. It's 4:37 in the AM and I can no longer sleep. Had a nightmare. It was lame, but dying once in the night is enough, okay? So here I am. Probably gonna go write an OD entry in a bit, but let me at least get the chapter started, okay?_

_Happy July (in general) to everyone! Hehe._

_And uhmm. ItaSaku up ahead, just a warning. And this __is_ the final and longest chapter! LYKOMGZZWHOAAA. Haha. Here it issss!

Disc: Rach no own. Waaah. :(

* * *

**F A L L I N G  
**  
C H A P T E R. S I X:  
F A L L E N

_By: you.broke.a.promise_

* * *

I paced around the living room in an agitated manner, looking back and forth from my grandmother and the telephone. Everything was going really, really wrong.

"Sakura, you're making me anxious, please, take a seat," My granny coaxed, patting the couch next to her, "Giving me a panic-attack won't change the boy's attitude."

I sighed, smiling sheepishly at her, and sat down, "Sorry, Grams. Just antsy, that's all. He's… one of my best friends. I hate it when he's mad at me."

"I know," She sighed, reaching for the remote, "Let's just watch something on television."

"Okay," I agreed, and she turned it on.

An hour later I had escaped (Golden Girls came on, and as much as I love my Grandma, that's just...no.) and was sitting in her guest room, looking determinedly at my laptop. I was signed on, and monitoring his screen name carefully. So far, no angry away messages, nor any IMs. Yes, monitoring. Like a creepy weird-o stalker. That would be me, calling all trigger-happy humans with shotguns, please be on the look-out for a pink-haired teenage girl with bright green eyes. She is to be shot on sight for being such a freak!

I sat down in the metal chair that was adjacent to my desk, heart beating a million miles a minute, palms sweating. "Oh god, oh god, oh god."

I felt like I was going to hurl. All because I had laughed. Openly. I started to worry, now not only for our friendship, but for his health. Why'd he black-out anyway? Ohhh god. The well-known feeling of guilt pooled in my stomach, and I rubbed the skin there, determined to make the horrible ache go away. I desperately needed something to distract me.

I blinked dazedly, because as if on cue, I heard the familiar sound of an IM. Hopeful, I looked up to see his brother, Itachi, IMing me.

**_UchihaI69:_** Hello, Sakura.

My heart practically froze in my chest. Itachi never talked to me. He was older, smarter, richer, gorgeous- oh. Did I mention _gorgeous_? Fer serious. Who else but Itachi Uchiha, resident SEX GOD, would be born on June 9th, effectively creating a legible excuse for someone smart and amazing like him to have the number 69 in his screen name? NOBODYYYY! My fingers hit the keys hesitantly, and finally after reading my reply over a few times to check for typos (who'd wanna send a grammatically incorrect greeting to a hot, gorgeous smart guy?)

**_CherryFlavoredFlower_:** Hey, Itachi.

Yeah, so what if my response was only two words!? They could still be mispelled! Which would be terribly mortifying!

_**UchihaI69:**_ What's going on with you and my brother?

I froze. He _knew_. He _totally_ knew! ...HOW THE HELL DID HE KNOW?! Ohh nooo. Play it cool, girl.

_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Ahh. We're just in the middle of a misunderstanding.  
_**UchihaI69:** _He was pretty pissed off when he slammed the phone off…  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Oh. Was he? …Heh… Yeah. My bad.  
_**UchihaI69:** _You laughed when you found out?  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Just all a misunderstanding!  
_**UchihaI69:** _Oh really?  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Uh…yes?  
_**UchihaI69:** _So you didn't laugh at him, then?  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _…Well, he thinks I did. I was the one laughing, yeah, but it's not how it sounds…!  
_**UchihaI69:** _Uh huh.  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower**: _It isn't! I was laughing at a memory, and I guess he heard me and thought I was laughing at him. Except he thought I was Temari, so he got mad at her, and she got mad at me, and now this.

Oops, was I rambling? Damn, I should stop that.

_**UchihaI69:** _Well, he did hit that counter pretty hard.  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _WHAT?!  
_**UchihaI69:** _Yes. Apparently his "sports-induced" asthma was acting up and when he started taking his inhalor, he blacked out and smacked his face against the counter. I heard it all the way in the other room. When I walked in, I found him face down in a puddle of his own blood.  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _OHMYGOD! What have I done!?  
_**UchihaI69:** _I'm sure he'll get over it. Temari's here now, and he seems to be forgetting his anger rather easily.  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Temari's there?  
_**UchihaI69:** _Yes, why?  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Oh, no reason.

He was so totally on to me. Well, he definitely already knew, but it's not like I was going to come right out and tell him. "Oh! I'm totally in love with your brother and it's my fault that he's having all of these problems with his girlfriend!"

I frowned.

Also, what the hell. Temari was _there_? She had just been screaming at me on the side walk a little while ago. She wanted me to come and hang out. It figures.

I wanted to stab something. The urge was almost overwhelming. Gahhh.

_**UchihaI69:** _Oh well.

And then I felt as a peice of information clicked in my mind.

_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Just a quick question…?  
**_UchihaI69_:** Yes?  
_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _How'd you get my screen name?  
RedDreamWeasel: I know everyone, Sakura. Don't think you've slipped beneath my radar. You're my little brother's best friend besides that idiot, Naruto. And you're pretty cute.

My eyes widened at the screen. ITACHI THOUGHT I WAS CUTE?! (Okay, I'm fangirling. I mean, HAVE YOU SEEN HIM!? Mafmasgsdlsfk!)

_**CherryFlavoredFlower:** _Oh. Kay?  
_**UchihaI69:** _Perhaps we could go out sometime.

NEH!?

**_CherryFlavoredFlower_:** Alright. That sounds cool.

MY FINGERS WERE PROCESSING THIS WITHOUT ME. MY MOUTH COULDN'T FORM WORDS. I COULDN'T EVEN FIX THE CAPS IN MY FREAKING MIND! NAHGHSDJFSDLSFK. Oh great, not even anymore coherrent words? Waaah.

_**UchihaI69:** _How about tonight? 8 perhaps?  
**_CherryFlavoredFlower_:** Okay. Where to?  
**_UchihaI69_:** You'll see. Where would you like to be picked up?  
**_CherryFlavoredFlower_:** How about I meet you at your house?  
_**UchihaI69:** _Agreed. See you at 8, Sakura.

_**UchihaI69** is no longer available._

I stared at the screen for a moment before scrolling up and re-reading the conversation. A hot, gorgeous, smart, rich, older guy had asked me out. And I had agreed, and kept my cool.

I had a date tonight! Yay!

…Wait.

Uchiha Itachi. Was Sasuke's older brother. And I'm in love with Sasuke.

Crap.

* * *

I had no idea what I was doing as I got ready for my date. Seriously. Firstly, I had to _go to Sasuke's house_ to meet _Itachi_ and then we were GOING ON A DATE. To who _knows_ where. He didn't even tell me. So I had no clue what to wear. In the end, I settled on a pair of dark blue skinnies with my black converse and a light green scoop-neck shirt. After adding a little mascara and some eyeliner, I pinned my bangs back on the top of my head and blinked at my reflection.

_Cute._

My grandma had agreed to drop me off at Sasuke's (thinking I was going over to spend some time with him and that he had forgiven me) and as she braked in his driveway I almost sighed in relief. Itachi was standing outside already, leaning on his two-door black mustang, looking amazingly gorgeous.

I wouldn't have to go inside, I wouldn't have to see Sasuke. I wouldn't have to see Sasuke _with_ Temari. And hell, I already knew I was going to get shit for this. Akira was completely in love with Itachi, Ino and I both used to fangirl over him whenever we saw him and Sasuke was going to freak. No, he was going to kill me. Or never talk to me again.

Not that he was talking to me now… yeah. This definitely wasn't the way to get him to forgive me. I looked at my grandma and bid her farewell, promising to be home later on if I didn't sleep over at Sasuke's like I usually did when he, Naruto and I got together. Sleepovers with the three of us were normal, but this time there was no Naruto, Sasuke was mad at me and he was in the house with his girlfriend. So sleeping over wasn't likely.

I smiled at Itachi as I approached, "So where we going?"

He smirked back at me, "Wherever you want to go."

I was feeling optimistic as he turned to open the car door, suddenly mad at Sasuke for being so damn sensitive and yelling at me without allowing me to give him an explanation. He did stuff with Temari in front of my face all the time. They'd practically had dry sex on the couch at _my_ house a few days before he told me he liked me!

I was suddenly fully intending to go with the flow on this date. Besides, it wasn't everyday that a girl like me got to date Itachi. He was a senior, an unattainable one at that. And it wasn't like I still didn't love Sasuke. But where the hell was that going, anyway? Okay. Forget I even thought that. I'm already feeling the stupid guilt. Rawr.

Itachi froze, turning towards me, a frown on his lips and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "Damn. I forgot my cell phone inside. Let me go get that. Want to come in?"

Thinking quickly, "No, that's okay. I'll wait here."

"You sure you don't want to come in for a minute?" He asked, seemingly innocently, "I'm sure my mother'll entertain you, she loves you."

I smiled weakly at him, "Oh, no, that's okay. I'll talk to her sooner or later."

He smirked and pulled the door open for me and I got in. He winked at me before he shut the door and as soon as he'd gone into the house, I let my head fall back against the seat of the car, closing my eyes.

And then I jumped half-way out of my _fucking_ seat when someone knocked on the side-window! I blinked only to find Naruto standing there with a confused smile. He opened the door and peered in at me, "Sakura-chan… did you get lost? You're in Itachi's car."

I let out an exasperated sigh, "I know where I am, Naruto."

"Why are you in there?"

I took a deep breath, contemplating on telling him. It was likely he'd tell Sasuke unless… "Promise you won't tell Sasuke? Or anyone else?"

Naruto looked confused, but promised on his dead father's grave.

"I'm going on a date with Itachi."

He sucked in a breath and started to choke, and I had to smack him on the back a few time before he could speak, "WHY!?"

"Because…he asked me out on one?"

"But, but S-Sakura-chan!"

"But what? Why shouldn't I go?"

"Sasuke-teme fights with Itachi all the time! He'll get so mad at you--!"

"He's already mad," I explained, "So it doesn't matter. And besides, what he doesn't know can't hurt him."

Naruto nodded, still looking weary, but stood and waved at me, "Alright Sakura-chan…have fun, okay?"

"Bye, Naruto," I responded as he shut the door.

Itachi came out of the house and Naruto stared at him for a moment, but didn't say anything. I shook my head as Itachi came around the car, opening the door and getting in, "Sorry I took so long," He said with a small smile, "Couldn't find it."

I nodded as we pulled out, and braced myself for the night ahead of me.

* * *

First, he took me to dinner, a small café in the next town over. He was amazingly sweet and our date was going really well. After that, he asked if I wanted to go to an upperclassman's party, and I agreed.

Turns out, his best friend Kisame was hosting. It surprised me that I knew so many people there, including several sophomore girls that looked at me enviously as I walked in on Itachi's arm. He smirked at me, whispering very calmly in my ear.

"Want to give them something to _really_ glare about?"

I grinned, always up for a challenge. He stopped abruptly, pulling me to his chest. I suppressed a fan girlish squee and looked up at him with a smirk. I almost lost my façade as I gazed into his eyes, identical to Sasuke's onyx ones. It was so easy to pretend with Itachi because they looked so similar. He smirked right back and brought his face down, pressing our lips together in a mock kiss.

And then he deepened it. The girls behind us gasped.

After several tongue-battling moments, we parted and I looked around to find death glares coming at me in every direction. Sporting a grin that went from one ear to the other, I winked at the girls and we mingled until almost midnight.

He had apparently assumed I was sleeping over. I supposed I could always call Ino, she'd come get me on her moped, and to be honest, I probably would call her. We pulled up in the driveway and he parked, but neither of us moved to get out.

"I think Temari and Sasuke are sleeping in the living room," Itachi said suddenly, his face impassive. I winced.

The moonlight was shining down through the windshield and he looked over at me coolly. I saw him glance at something out of the corner of his eye, but paid no heed to it. In the light, he looked just like Sasuke, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. He leaned in and our lips met. I felt him un-doing my seat-belt and sighed, him taking the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth. We parted for breath again and I realized he was leaning awkwardly over the arm-rest to get at me. He didn't seem to care, and began placing kisses on my jaw and neck.

The next thing I knew, we'd somehow made it to the back seat, and he was poised over me, our kisses still heated. His hand slipped just under the hem of my shirt, and he began drawing gentle circles on my skin there. I was about to let out a light moan when someone knocked on the damn front seat window. I thanked every single Kami I could think of that the back windows were tinted.

"Which skank do you have tonight, Itachi?"

I froze. I knew that voice _anywhere. _**Sasuke**._ Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!_

"Shut up," Itachi replied easily.

I almost laughed out loud.

"Must be someone interesting," Sasuke mused from outside the car, leaning on the side near my head, "You usually don't tell me off."

_Double shitttt._

"Why aren't you inside with Temari?" Itachi asked coolly, "Decided you weren't good enough for her and left?"

"Che, as if," Sasuke muttered and I bit my lip. Itachi was still practically on top of me, and my shirt was slightly askew.

"Go play or something," Itachi told him. "I'm busy."

"Yeah, I noticed. Screwing in the back of your car?"

I closed my eyes with a wince.

"You're crude," Itachi replied just as Sasuke yanked the door open.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!_

"I wonder if your whore thinks so," Sasuke grumbled.

Itachi was still blocking his view of me, but I knew that if Sasuke looked close enough, he'd recognize my stupid converse. He'd written on them, so it was a little obvious.

"She's not a whore," Itachi ground out.

I was surprised to hear the anger in his voice. Apparently Sasuke was too and he blinked uncertainly, backing up a step, "Well, who is it then?"

"None of your business," Itachi replied accompanying it with a cold glare. "Go away."

"Don't feel like it," Sasuke hissed.

"You know what?" I said finally, pushing Itachi away gently so I could clamber back over the seats.

I took in Sasuke's shocked stare and I frowned at him, annoyed, his expression giving me confidence, "I don't know _what_ your problem is, Sasuke, but I think you should just go back inside. No one asked you to come out here and be a jerk. I know you got hurt today, and I'm sorry you think I laughed at you, but that doesn't mean that you should be a jackass to everyone, Itachi included."

He gaped at me, and I felt Itachi getting out of the car behind me.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Itachi said aloud, leaving me and Sasuke standing there.

As the front door closed, so did Sasuke's mouth. Now that I could see his face, I saw where he hit the counter. His bottom lip was split, but when he spoke, he had both teeth. He must've had the temps in already. He seemed to come back down to earth when the door slammed.

"_You_ were his date tonight?" He growled.

"Yes. What of it?" I growled back.

"He's _my __brother,_" He snapped.

"So? I'm not dating you! Why does it matter?!"

"Because I told you I _liked_ you! No! Damn it, you know I mother-fucking hate expressing myself! Weren't you the one who called me 'emotionally stunted'? In my fucking language, I practically told you I _loved you_!"

A gasp sounded and it took me a moment to realize that it hadn't come from my mouth. We both turned slightly to see Temari standing there, a broken look on her face.

"Temari," I started, "I--"

"It was _you_?" She asked, voice just above a whisper. "All this time and it was _you_, Sakura? You're one of my best friends.. I…"

Sasuke remained silent, practically pleading the fifth.

"I'm sorry," I told her, taking a step towards her, "I--"

"It's not your fault, Sakura. But YOU!" She seethed, turning on the silent Sasuke, "My best _friend!? I loved you. _How could _you_?"

"She was my best friend first," He grumbled.

"What the fuck…" The blonde snarled and I blinked, looking at Temari incredulously. "Whatever. You can _have him_, Sakura, he's an asshole," She growled.

She glared at Sasuke one last time before stomping off towards her car. She got in, turned it on, and revved it once before speeding out of the driveway. I stared unsurely after her.

"Holy crap," I mumbled.

"I can't believe this shit," He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Was dating my brother a way of getting my attention? Cause you sure have it now."

"It wasn't a… well. It didn't start out that way."

"Right."

"As you _saw,_" I growled, "I didn't want you to know. Itachi was covering for me. So obviously it wasn't. So shut up."

"Yeah, if you call covering for you, clambering on top of you and shoving his tongue down your throat when he saw me come out of the house!"

"Oh, please!" I exlaimed, rolling my eyes.

"I can't believe you."

"I can't believe _you_!"

We stood in silence for a few minutes before he walked over to me. I backed up until my spine hit Itachi's car, and Sasuke moved forward, cornering me with his hands on either side of my head, boxing me in.

"You're fucking _ridiculous_," He growled, before he kissed me.

It wasn't a lip bruising kiss (I figured his were still tender) but there was anger in it, and he put a lot of effort into trying to be the dominant one. His hands left the car as he cupped my face, breaking the kiss off and touching our foreheads together.

"Uh…thanks?" I asked, responding to his earlier comment.

He smirked, looking down at me, "Well, since you made me lose my girlfriend, I guess you'll just have to take her place," He told me matter-of-factly.

"Oh, really?" I asked with a smirk.

"Really," He teased, kissing me again.

The front door opened and I froze. I had forgotten all about Itachi. Sasuke had tensed up, the anger returning to his face.

But Itachi smirked and spoke first, "Well, finally. The sexual tension everytime you two were together was getting intolerable."

I gaped at him and Sasuke just looked confused. And then he asked us to stop leaning on his car. Sasuke muttered something murderously, and I just laughed, closing my eyes and turning my face up to the sky.

I had been falling for Uchiha Sasuke.

And he had fallen right back.

* * *

AWWW! Hahaha. FIN!

Did ya likeee it?

The last chapter doesn't resemble my real life _at all_, but this fic needed to end. Haha.

So what'd you think? Review for me! :D Or for my birthday, which was exactly eight days ago!


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